Magnetically attached cover for a golf club

ABSTRACT

The cover is in the form of a sock or boot and carries either rigid or flexible permanent magnetic means for securing the cover over the head of a golf club having a ferrous metal portion carried by the club head or by the lower end of the club shaft.

[451 Jan. 21, 1975 United States Patent 1191 Harding [54] MAGNETICALLY ATTACHED COVER FOR 2,676,803 4/1954 Damaske 150/52 G X X U R 2 5 0 U Sukala..........

A GOLF CLUB Young 150/52 0 x 11/1969 Gladden....................... 206/818 ux [76] Inventor: Joseph J. Harding, 300 W. Franklin 3,430,145

St., Richmond, Va. 23220 Sept. 7, 1973 [22] Filed:

Primary ExaminerDonald F. Norton Attorney, Agent, or FirmBacon & Thomas 211 Appl. N0.: 395,160

[57] ABSTRACT The cover is in the form of a sock or boot and carries either rigid or flexible permanent magnetic means for [52] US. Cl. 150/52 G [51] Int. A63b 57/00 [58] Field of Search......... 150/52 G, 52 R; 206/818;

24/73 CF, 73 MS, 201 B securing the cover over the head of a golf club having a ferrous metal portion carried by the club head or by the lower end of the club shaft.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,526,985 10/1950 Whitehead.i......................

150/52 G 6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures MAGNETICALLY ATTACHED COVER FOR A GOLF CLUB This invention is directed to improved covers adapted to be attached to golf clubs provided with large wooden heads, such as the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 woods, so that the covers will not become accidentally detached and lost.

It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide a cover for the head of a golf club which will be attracted to a portion of the club and thereby detachably secured thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cover which is held in place on the head of a golf club to be protected against damage.

A further object is to provide a cover which is easy to place on and remove from the head of a golf club wood and yet is adhered to a portion of the club when in place thereon.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following specification when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of covers according to this invention mounted on the heads of Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 golf club woods;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the leg portion of the cover taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view of a modified form of the invention taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1',

FIG. 5 is a view taken on the line S-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 but showing a further modified form of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, cross sectional view of the closed end of another form of the invention showing, partially in cross section, the head of a golf club wood to which the cover is attached.

The cover A showin in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 is generally in the form of a sock or boot and includes a closed toe portion 1, a foot portion generally designated by the reference numeral 3 and an elongated, tubular leg portion 5 which extends outwardly for a substantial distance from the foot portion 3.

The size of the foot portion 3 of the cover A is designed to be a comfortable, loose sliding fit with the head of the golf club for which it is intended, and the size of the interior 7 of the tubular leg portion 5 is large enough to permit the head of the golf club for which the cover is designed, to slide freely therethrough so that the cover may be quickly and easily placed on or removed from the head of a golf club. The tubular leg portion 5 is of sufficient length so that the lower end portion 1 l of the metal shaft 13 is enclosed by the outer end portion 15 of the leg portion 5.

The foot portion 3 and the tubular leg portion 5 of the cover A are formed of flexible, pliant, non-metallic material so that these portions will readily conform to the head and shaft of a golf club while the closed toe portion 1 may be of the same material as the remainder of the cover, or may be of a different material, and may include an outwardly extending loop 17 formed of suitable strong material such as plastic, leather or strong fabric, through which a thong 19 may be threaded for attaching together a series of the covers A.

The cover A preferably includes an inner layer 21 and a separate outer layer 23 disposed contiguous with the inner layer. The outer layer 23 is preferably fabricated of suitable yarn and has on its outer surface a plurality of closely spaced rib portions 25 which are shown extending lengthwise of the tubular leg portion 5 but which may be disposed in any suitable pattern.

The inner layer 21 may be formed of the same material as the outer layer 23 or it may be formed of other suitable material such as fabric, plastic or other suitable strong pliant material. The inner and outer layers 21 and 23 may be secured together at the tip of the toe portion 1 and at the entrance opening 27 of the tubular leg portion 5.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of rigid permanent magnets 29, such as those sold under the trade name of ALNICO are disposed in the tubular leg portion adjacent the outer end thereof so as to be positioned around the lower end portion of the metal shaft 13 of the golf club when the cover is in position thereon. The permanent magnets 29 are shown arranged in a stack and secured to the inner surface 31 of the inner layer 21 by a suitable piece of fabric 33 attached as by stitching 35 to the inner layer 21 and forming a pocket 37 closely surrounding and confining the stack of permanent magnets.

The cover A is intended to be used with a golf club having a shaft which includes or carries a ferrous metal or with one in which the club head is provided with a ferrous metal portion. When the cover A is placed over the head of a golf club having a shaft which includes ferrous metal, the permanent magnets 29 will be attracted to the shaft and will magnetically attach the cover to the golf club.

While two stacks of the permanent magnets 29 are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 by way of example, it will be obvious that only one stack could be used to secure the cover in place, or if desired, more than two stacks of the permanent magnets could be attached to the inner layer 21 in the manner already described so that they would be attracted to the ferrous metal shaft.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 a plurality of elongated, rectangular shaped, rigid, permanent magnets 39, of the type manufactured under the trade name ALNICO, are adhesively secured as at 41 to the inner surface 43 of the inner layer 21 of the tubular leg portion 5 with the longest dimension of the magnets extending lengthwise of the tubular leg portion. As illustrated, the permanent magnets 39 will be attracted to the ferrous metal shaft 13 and will become attached thereto with the inner layer 21 of the tubular leg portion 5 drawn inwardly toward the golf club shaft in the area where the permanent magnets are attached thereto. It may be that some of the permanent magnets do not become attached to the shaft of the golf club when the cover is placed thereon but in all instances, at least some of the magnets are located close enough to the shaft so that they are strongly attracted to and become attached to it.

In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of spaced apart, permanent magnets 45 are disposed in contact with the inner surface 47 of the inner layer 21 and each of the permanent magnets 45 is secured in place in a pocket 49 formed in the flexible material 51 stiched as at 53 to the inner layer 21. The magnets 45 are attracted to the ferrous metal shaft 13 and become attached to it, thereby securing the cover A in place.

The manner in which the cover A is secured to the golf club shaft 13 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is similar to the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and to that shown in FIG. 6. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the permanent magnets 21 are arranged so that the stack extends axially of the club shaft 13 and lengthwise of the tubular leg portion 5 with a peripheral portion of the permanent magnets 29 disposed adjacent to the shaft 13. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the permanent magnets 39 extend lengthwise of the metal shaft 13 with a flat, rectangular shaped surface in engagement with the club shaft while in FIG. 6, the permanent magnets 45 are spaced apart along the axis of the club shaft 13 and with one circular end surface thereof disposed adjacent the metal shaft.

The inner and outer layers 21 and 23 of each cover provide a tubular leg portion 5 which is of substantial thickness. The rib portions 25 stand out on the outer surface of the leg portion and further space the permanent magnets attached to the inner surface of the leg portion from the permanent magnets of an adjacent cover or from the ferrous metal shaft of an adjacent golf club so that the cover will be attracted to and become attached only to the golf club on which it is mounted.

As shown in FIG. 7, a ferrous metal plate 55 is carried by the head 57 of the golf club and a section of relatively flexible, permanent magnet sheet material 59 is adhesively secured as at 61 to the inner surface 63 of the foot portion 3 of the cover A. The ferrous metal plate 55 may be attached to the sole 65 of the head 57 and may be square, rectangular or of other suitable shape for cooperation with the sheet of permanent magnet material 59 which is preferably substantially larger in size than the ferrous metal plate 55. Flexible magnetic material comprising particles of magnetizable material embedded in resinous or plastic sheet material provided on one surface with a coating of pressure sensitive or heat activated adhesive may be employed in place of the rigid permanent magnets mentioned above as well as in the form of the invention shown in FIG. 7.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A magnetically attached cover for a golf club having a ferrous metal portion comprising:

a sock of flexible, pliable, non-metallic material having a foot portion for receiving the head of a golf club;

a toe portion closing one end of said foot portion;

a tubular leg portion for enclosing the lower end of the shaft of the golf club and having one end connected to the other end of said foot portion, at least the leg portion of said cover being fabricated of yarn, the yarn of said leg portion being fabricated to provide a plurality of closely spaced rib portions covering the outer surface thereof; and

permanent magnet means carried by the inner surface of the leg portion of said cover and adapted to be disposed adjacent the ferrous metal portion of said golf club for magnetically attaching said cover to said golf club.

2. A cover for the head of a golf club according to claim 1, in which said permanent magnetic means is discontinuous and comprises at least two rigid, spaced apart, pieces of permanent magnet material.

3. A cover for the head of a golf club according to claim 1, in which said rib portions extend along the length of said leg portion.

4. A cover for the head of a golf club according to claim 3 in which at least the leg portion of said cover comprises a tubular outer layer of said yarn and a separate, tubular inner layer of flexible, pliant, non-metallic material disposed contiguous with the inner surface of said tubular outer layer and said permanent magent means is secured to said tubular inner layer.

5. A cover for the head of a golf club according to claim 1 in which said permanent magnet means comprises a plurality of pieces of magnetic material spaces apart axially along the length of said tubular leg portron.

6. A magnetically attached cover for a golf club having a ferrous metal portion, comprising:

a sock of flexible, pliable, non-metallic material having a foot portion for receiving the head of a golf club;

a toe portion closing one end of said foot portion;

a tubular leg portion for enclosing the lower end of the shaft of the golf club and having one end connected to the other end of said foot portion; and

permanent magnet means carried by the inner surface of the foot portion of said cover and adapted to be disposed adjacent the ferrous metal portion of said golf club for magnetically attaching said cover to said golf club. 

1. A magnetically attached cover for a golf club having a ferrous metal portion comprising: a sock of flexible, pliable, non-metallic material having a foot portion for receiving the head of a golf club; a toe portion closing one end of said foot portion; a tubular leg portion for enclosing the lower end of the shaft of the golf club and having one end connected to the other end of said foot portion, at least the leg portion of said cover being fabricated of yarn, the yarn of said leg portion being fabricated to provide a plurality of closely spaced rib portions covering the outer surface thereof; and permanent magnet means carried by the inner surface of the leg portion of said cover and adapted to be disposed adjacent the ferrous metal portion of said golf club for magnetically attaching said cover to said golf club.
 2. A cover for the head of a golf club according to claim 1, in which said permanent magnetic means is discontinuous and comprises at least two rigid, spaced apart, pieces of permanent magnet material.
 3. A cover for the head of a golf club according to claim 1, in which said rib portions extend along the length of said leg portion.
 4. A cover for the head of a golf club according to claim 3 in which at least the leg portion of said cover comprises a tubular outer layer of said yarn and a separate, tubular inner layer of flexible, pliant, non-metallic material disposed contiguous with the inner surface of said tubular outer layer and said permanent magent means is secured to said tubular inner layer.
 5. A cover for the head of a golf club according to claim 1 in which said permanent magnet means comprises a plurality of pieces of magnetic material spaces apart axially along the length of said tubular leg portion.
 6. A magnetically attached cover for a golf club having a ferrous metal portion, comprising: a sock of flexible, pliable, non-metallic material having a foot portion for receiving the head of a golf club; a toe portion closing one end of said foot portion; a tubular leg portion for enclosing the lower end of the shaft of the golf club and having one end connected to the other end of said foot portion; and permanent magnet means carried by the inner surface of the foot portion of said cover and adapted to be disposed adjacent the ferrous metal portion of said golf club for magnetically attaching said cover to said golf club. 